‘Subs’ bubbly across US
Americans are falling in love with subscription services, allowing “experts” to pick everything from their clothing to their dinners — and more.
Nowhere is the enthusiasm for subscription plans more evident than in the wine realm.
“Wine clubs used to be for wine people,” said Jessyca Frederick, founder and CEO of WineClubReviews.net, “but the proliferation of subscription services like Blue Apron has attracted a lot of people to the wine space.”
And many won’t break your budget.
Frederick’s site lists at least 30 subscription plans that sell wine for less than $20 a bottle, which is the sweet spot for most US wine sales, according to industry experts.
But there is also demand for highpriced wine as well.
“The area of the biggest growth has been the exclusive stuff, bottles in the $100 to $150 range,” said Bryan St. Amant, founder of Vinter Active, a wine consultancy.
Some wineries that do business in that price range — like Devona of Walla Walla, Wash., and Rochioli of Healdsburg, Calif. — have become so popular that they now have waiting lists.
But while Americans become seduced by wine clubs, they are also discovering that there can be too much of a good thing.
“I know more people who tell me which wine club they used to be in,” said Ursula Hermacinski, a wine auctioneer. “The wines keep coming, and one day you have too much and you quit the wine club.”